H&M’s Mega-Signs In Times Square Rankle Neighbors

Four large H&M signs will be displayed atop this Times Square tower. (Credit: Alex Silverman/WCBS 880)

Four large H&M signs will be displayed atop this Times Square tower. (Credit: Alex Silverman/WCBS 880)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Seventy feet high and across, four signs atop a 48-story Times Square tower will soon stand as shimmering beacons of reasonably priced clothing.

H&M, the Swedish clothing retailer, is adding the signs above its forthcoming 42,000-square-foot store at West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue. Three times taller than the iconic, bright red General Electric logo at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the H&M signs are expected to become the most prominent logo in the Manhattan skyline.

H&M's Mega-Signs In Times Square Rankle Neighbors

“It’s almost like a dog marking its territory,” said Marisa Redanty, a community activist who lives down 42nd Street from 4 Times Square, also known as the Conde Nast Building.

“I’m hoping that the powers that be will be able to do something to restrict it,” she added.

As of Monday morning, the signs were not up yet, but the four large panels from which the H&M logos will shine protruded from each side of the tower. It was unclear how much the clothing chain is paying to display the signs there, but it is expected to be millions of dollars.

New lighted signs are banned on most of the city skyline, but not in Times Square. The GE and MetLife signs in Midtown were grandfathered in.

A spokeswoman for H&M told The Wall Street Journal that the retailer is excited to have a spot on the New York skyline and that the signs “will exemplify our commitment to the area.”